Environmental Issue & Sick Building Syndrome Blog

Where Oh Where is the Black Mold Hiding............ Where on Earth Can It Be?

February 13th, 2017 4:23 PM by Dan Howard

It was a great house. Entering the home, you would see that it is beautifully finished, finely furnished, and neat as a pin to boot.

It was in the middle of an expensive, exclusive neighborhood.

The client came to the door dressed in a name brand label business suit that looked just as you would expect a successful professional living the American Dream to wear.

His doctor tested his blood and told him that it appears (clean, expensive house or not) that he had a mold exposure.

Neither him or his wife believed they had mold in the home. They did know that there was something making him sick…..which was why he went to the doctor.

The picture above is the visible mold during the mold survey or assessment. Testing revealed that it was Stachybotrys, also known as “Toxic Black Mold” and was hidden in the space behind the furnace and hot water tank. You can see from the picture, it was visible…if you crawled back behind the hot water tank. The problem was nobody had looked in that area.

Because the mold was near the forced air furnace, the ductwork at the furnace pulled the mold spores, endotoxins and mycotoxins into the ductwork and then through the house. Air tests showed mold spread to the master bedroom and exercise rooms.

His medical practitioner believed that mold remediation was needed in this home for the health of the homeowner.